Former Allman Brothers band guitarist Dan Toler dies at 65 following battle with ALS

Dan Toler, a guitarist who played with the Allman Brothers Band, has died at age 65 following a battle with ALS.

According to Ticket Sarasota, the guitarist, nicknamed Dangerous Dan, died Sunday night in his sleep. He had not been able to speak or play guitar in the months leading up to his death because of the disease.

“His ability to make people laugh and feel good and happy was amazing,” his friend, Chaz Trippy, told the publication. “That smile of his is just a force of life and, God, how he loved playing that guitar.”

Trippy, who played with the Gregg Allman band, added, “I was talking to him about the old days on the road,the stuff we used to do...He couldn’t speak but he squeezed my hand.”

According to Rolling Stone, Toler played with the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers starting in the late 1970s. He appeared on their 1979 album Enlightened Rogues. He played on two more records with the Allman Brothers Band: Reach for the Sky (1980) and Brothers of the Road (1981).

Toler and his late brother, Frankie, joined the Gregg Allman Band in the 1980s, playing on two of the group’s records.

Prior to his work with the Allmans, he played with Dickey Betts and Great Southern band and rejoined the group in 2002. He announced that he was diagnosed with ALS in August.

Ticket Sarasota added that a Celebration of Life event for Toler is planned for March 9 at Sarasota’s Faith Presbyterian Church.